After being diagnosed with prostate cancer more than a year ago, Gerald Anthony went searching for answers.

“When someone says you have cancer, you want real facts, real answers and real direction,” said Anthony, who turns 60 this month.

“Every Web site can promise the world with celebrities and couples walking in a field holding hands, but in reality you need to find something that works for you.”

And he did just that. After months of researching his options, Anthony decided to undergo robotic surgery to have his prostate removed.

Computers have been used as diagnostic instruments for years. But only recently have robots entered the operating room. The FDA approved the first completely robotic surgery device in June 2000, and for the last eight years researchers and doctors have been making advancements that could eventually lead to doctor-less ORs.

Advocates for robotic-assisted surgeries claim the procedure reduces the amount of trauma on a patient’s body.

“The same day of the surgery I was walking. I was discharged the next day and was walking and pretty active within a couple days,” said Anthony.

Watch Dr. Ash Tewari perform robotic surgery (Warning video is graphic)

Dr. Ash Tewari, who has been using robots for almost a decade on urological-related surgeries, said the robot's small, pencil-like instruments allow him to make smaller, more precise incisions.

According to Dr. Ketan Badani, director of robotic surgery at Columbia University Medical Center, robots are also cost effective.

Hospitals pay less because patients aren't staying as long, and there are fewer complications, Badani said. “There is also a demand factor, people are going to hear about the benefits and want the option of robotic-assisted surgery and if you don’t offer this operation you are going to lose out,” he said.